Inside the September 2012 Shambhala Sun magazine

Featuring "Real Peace in Times of Stress," a special section on how to find peace, calm, and sanity in a stressed-out world. Authors include Judy Lief, Michael Carroll, Sister Chan Khong, and more.

Also inside: 50 years of San Francisco Zen Center; Buddhist-inspired novelists Susan Dunlap, Cary Groner, and Kim Stanley Robinson; a never-before-published teaching by Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, and much more.

this issue's editorial

• The Secret

By Shambhala Sun Deputy Editor Andrea Miller

• The Middle Way of Stress

Judy Lief on what Buddhist wisdom teaches us about stress—where it really comes from, how it manifests, and why we may need it on the spiritual path.

Plus, leading Buddhist teachers and mindfulness experts show us simple, powerful techniques for real relief from stress—at work, at home, in our relationships, and more:

• Susan Gillis Chapman: Relationships • Michael Carroll: Work • Diana Winston: Parenting  • Sister Chan Khong: Body • Carolyn Rose Gimian: Humor • Jessica Morey: Teens • Kathleen Dean Moore: Nature • Susan Bauer-Wu: Health • Lori Deschene: Technology • Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso: The Final Word

features

• Always Beginner's Mind

It's a lively, practice-oriented and multi-faceted community that's profoundly influenced how Zen is practiced and lived in America. Colleen Morton Busch reports from San Francisco Zen Center on its fiftieth anniversary.

RELATED:

• Mind Waves

An excerpt from Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind, the seminal work by San Francisco Zen Center founder Shunryu Suzuki Roshi. In this chapter alone he explains: how to practice zazen, the difference between small and big mind, and the true nature of thoughts.

• Pure Fiction

Mystery, suspense, science fiction—Andrea Miller profiles Kim Stanley Robinson, Susan Dunlap, and Cary Groner, three Buddhist-inspired novelists who make up stories to tell deeper truths about life.

• Playing with Buddha

At age seven, Ira Sukrungruang believed that the Buddha was more than just a bronze statue. The Buddha was his best friend.

And we continue our year-long celebration of the Shambhala Sun's founder, Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, with a series of never-before-published teachings. In this issue: Mahamudra.

RELATED SHAMBHALA SUN SPOTLIGHT:
• The Teachings of Chögyam Trungpa

other voices

• Booooring...

Like, say, staring into space. Or counting your breaths. Or living life just as it is. Karen Maezen Miller on the virtues of boredom.

• Perfectly Imperfect

In a world of Botox, little blue pills, and "living your best life," we could all use more wabi sabi in our lives. Because imperfection, says Roger Housden, is what makes us human.

• The Tweeting, Yelping, Flickring, Foursquaring, TripAdvising Mentality

Michael A. Stusser on the wildly overstimulated brain.




Also: Bestselling author Diane Ackerman defines nature for a wonderful world in the future.

reviews

• Tapping the Creative Mind

Christian McEwen reviews Imagine: How Creativity Works by Jonah Lehrer.

• Books in Brief

Andrea Miller reviews books by Elana Rosenbaum, Katherine Jenkins, Kay Larson, and several other titles worth your while.

about a poem

• Henry Shukman on Hakuin Ekaku's "The Monkey Is Reaching"

Shambhala Sun, September 2012, Volume Twenty One, Number 1.

To order a trial subscription to the Shambhala Sun, click here.

ON THE COVER: Guanyin of the Southern Sea, Liao (907–1125) or Jin Dynasty (1115–1234). Wood with polychrome, 95 x 65 inches. The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, Missouri. Chinese. Purchase: William Rockhill Nelson Trust, 34–10. Photo: Jameson Miller.